And, of course, the fried foods found all over Rome. However, this versatile wine is also a great match with the wide variety of cuisines found all over Italy, from Naple’s famous Bufalo Mozzarella in the south to Piedmont’s traditional Vitello Tonnato (thinly sliced beef with fresh tuna mayonnaise) in the north. So it comes as no surprise that there is a locally-produced wine to go with the locally-produced food. Lambrusco’s hometown region of Emilia-Romagna is famous for three culinary delights: balsamic vinegar, Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, and Prosciutto di Parma. Lambrusco is often made from a blend of two or more varieties, giving winemakers the ability to craft signature styles of the wine.Ī post shared by Marisa’s Wine Doodles Talk Italian. For example, the Sorbara variety produces the lightest-hued wines (many are a light orangey-pink) that are delicately fragrant and floral with a lively acidity, whereas Grasparossa makes dark purplish-red colored wines that are textured, full-bodied, and creamy with flavors of dark cherry and plum. The wine’s color and flavor are largely determined by the varieties used. Most Lambrusco wine is made from a family of commonly found varieties (clones) which includes two of the most popular, Grasparossa and Sorbara, as well as many others including Salamino (the most widely planted), Maestri, Montericco, and Marani. The word “lambrusco” derives from the Latin labrusca, which means “wild,” and the grape is believed to have descended from domesticated wild Italian vines. However, once introduced to Lambrusco, they are hooked.” A Family Affair “Surprisingly,” says Alyssa Monturi, sommelier at Manhattan’s Marta restaurant, “it still seems as if many New Yorkers are unaware that this ‘violet Italian sparkling magic’ exists. Fortunately though, most wine shops carry a decent Lambrusco or two.Īt Marta, a restaurant in Manhattan that specializes in modern Italian fare, there is one Lambrusco on the mostly Italian wine list. However, even in New York City, it’s not always easy to find a bottle of Lambrusco on a wine list, even at Italian restaurants. In the five years since Asimov’s article, Lambrusco, the “real” kind, has continued to gain in popularity, particularly among those in the know in cosmopolitan cities. Real Lambrusco is a fresh, dry, earthy, effervescent red, with a slight bitterness that goes beautifully with the rich cuisine of Emilia-Romagna, its home region in north-central Italy.” “These wines have little to do with the sickly sweet beverages that dominated the market in the 1980s. “Real Lambrusco is back,” wrote Eric Asimov in the New York Times in 2017. Today, Lambrusco comes in both dry and sweet styles, with the best considered to be dry ( secco), although good versions can be found in the off-dry (semi-secco) and semi-sweet ( amabile) categories as well.
Producers soon noted that the time was right to return to their traditional pre-1970s roots by producing smaller amounts of quality-driven wines. However, by the turn of the 21st century it was evident that a change was in the air and, increasingly, consumers were looking for drier, better-made wines.
During the ‘80s and 90s, even talking about dry Lambrusco was unthinkable for most of its producers, as the sweet version had become the region’s bread and butter. In recent years, the wine, once known as a mass-produced, inexpensive, sugary-sweet beverage, is shedding its poor image and is now being made in several complex, fresh, and dry versions.īeginning in the 1970s, the sweet, industrialized type of Lambrusco became very popular, especially in the sugar-loving United States market, promoted by the giant Riunite company, whose catchy campaign slogan, “Riunite on ice, Riunite so nice” remains memorable nearly fifty years later. Lambrusco, the effervescent red wine from Italy, is in the midst of an exciting renaissance.
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